218: Chapter 218 The Dress-Up Game

Ye Qingqing felt a dizzying sensation, the familiar and heart-palpitating vertigo surging over her once again.

She inwardly cursed her bad luck; an ominous premonition instantly enveloped her heart.

Within her line of sight, the plant named Xiao Lü was trembling violently, its leaves rustling, like a beast thoroughly enraged and ready to pounce on its prey at any moment.

Thinking back to the nauseating, utterly miserable feeling of vomiting before, Ye Qingqing couldn't help but feel regret.

She truly never wanted to experience such painful torment a second time. However, what was done was done; no amount of remorse would change things now.

At that moment, somehow, Ye Qingqing found herself blurting out as if possessed: "Xiao Lü! Xiao Ye! Do you want to play a game?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, even she was startled by this sudden utterance.

Heavens! What was I thinking? What kind of bizarre thought process could have prompted me to say something so absurd?

Yet something strange happened. Right after Ye Qingqing made this preposterous suggestion, the deafening vibration sounds around her abruptly ceased, and the whole world seemed to fall into a deathly silence in an instant.

What was even more astonishing was that the two vines standing quietly in front suddenly underwent a startling transformation.

The vines, originally buried deep in the ground with only two dark green stems exposed, now slowly revealed two clearly visible human face outlines as if they possessed life.

These two faces appeared abruptly on the dark green stems, but upon closer inspection, they differed from normal human faces—they only had simple facial features, no expression, no warmth, just quietly gazing at Ye Qingqing as if appraising something.

From Ye Qingqing's perspective, she saw two large, round eyes, a straight nose, and a slightly upturned mouth slowly materializing on the surface of the green stem!

If Ye Qingqing weren't mentally resilient enough, she probably would have fainted on the spot.

After all, the scene was genuinely eerie and spine-chilling.

However, Ah Huang, who was beside her, was not as composed as Ye Qingqing.

When Ah Huang caught a glimpse of Xiao Lü and Xiao Ye's faces, its whole body shuddered violently, then it collapsed to the ground without warning, directly losing consciousness.

Poor Ah Huang was inwardly lamenting its misfortune; it was just an ordinary little dog after all, how could it possibly comprehend such a bizarre and fantastical sight?

Moreover, where could Ah Huang's fragile little heart withstand such a fright?

Seeing this, Ye Qingqing couldn't help but take a deep breath, then strained to suppress her own rapid breathing.

She closed her eyes tightly, silently repeating in her mind: "Existence is reasonable... existence is reasonable..."

Trying to use this to calm the fear and unease in her heart. At that moment, the corner of Xiao Lü's mouth suddenly twitched upward, revealing an extremely exaggerated smile.

That mouth was already enormous to begin with, and now with this smile, it looked exactly like a carnivorous flower opening its maw, utterly ferocious and terrifying!

Moreover, its teeth were also pointy. Ye Qingqing even felt that the mouth before her might very well swallow her up the next second, chew her a couple of times, and digest her.

"Okay, Xiao Lü wants to play a game with the new doll."

Accompanied by a crisp and pleasant voice, Ye Qingqing looked at Xiao Lü before her with a smile.

She had only asked casually, never expecting this simple question to trigger a series of unexpected responses.

"What game does the new doll want to play with Xiao Lü?"

Ye Qingqing curiously pressed. However, she never imagined that her offhand remark would actually plunge Xiao Lü into deep thought.

Ye Qingqing now felt somewhat awkward because she had just blurted it out on a whim, saying it randomly.

Who could have predicted that the vine before her would take it so seriously?

However, after brief observation and thought, Ye Qingqing gradually noticed an interesting phenomenon—this vine's intelligence didn't seem very high, roughly equivalent to a six or seven-year-old child.

Thinking this, Ye Qingqing's heart immediately settled.

She pondered to herself: "So that's it. It seems this vine possesses formidable power, but its mentality is as simple and innocent as a child's."

As she thought, her gaze involuntarily fell upon Ah Huang beside her. Comparatively, Ah Huang's intelligence might be slightly superior.

At that moment, Xiao Lü suddenly raised its head, its large eyes fixed intently on Ye Qingqing, and said excitedly: "Xiao Lü likes to play with dolls!" Hearing this, Ye Qingqing was taken aback for a moment, then nodded, indicating understanding.

But immediately after, Xiao Lü added: "Likes to play with pretty dolls!" Ye Qingqing smiled slightly, thinking this was indeed a common preference among children.

However, just as Xiao Lü casually uttered the words "Likes to tear off all the doll's arms and legs!" the bright, flower-like smile on Ye Qingqing's face instantly froze stiff, as if under a paralysis spell.

Her beautiful large eyes widened in shock, filled with astonishment and disbelief, staring straight at the seemingly harmless vine before her.

At this moment, her throat uncontrollably bobbed violently, as if an invisible hand were tightly choking her throat, preventing her from uttering a single word.

For a moment, the entire space seemed shrouded in a thick haze, permeated with an eerie and terrifying atmosphere.

That sinister aura clung like a shadow, seeming ready to swallow everyone into an endless dark abyss.

"Ah this... no way? In this day and age, even these sentient plants have become so brutal?"

Such a question arose in Ye Qingqing's heart, while her worry for Deng Jiayu and the others' safety intensified even more.

Thinking they might be facing unknown dangers, Ye Qingqing's heart felt as if being gnawed by millions of ants.

"But Xiao Lü, if all the doll's arms and legs are torn off, won't the doll be unable to play anymore?"

Ye Qingqing forced down the fear in her heart, trying to make her voice sound calmer.

"Xiao Lü, when you say you like pretty dolls, could it be you like playing dress-up games with them?" Ye Qingqing attempted to change the subject, to ease the suffocating tension.

Hearing Ye Qingqing's words, Xiao Lü's previously lowered head suddenly lifted. Its emerald leaves trembled slightly, seemingly from excitement. Clearly, Ye Qingqing's words had successfully piqued its interest.